My Journey as An Ally

By Rachel Maitland, HR Generalist at Enterprise

A friend of mine had posted on social media during Pride month about big companies getting out their pride flags once a year to show their support then doing nothing else. I phoned her up and said, ‘Enterprise don’t do this!’.

Then I realized that I was part of a company that I was really proud to work for but I myself was not doing anything to be an ally. I worked in the Scotland region at the time and wanted to be involved in our Diversity Committee to keep the conversations going all year round, not just during specific months that the calendar dictated.

I wanted to educate myself and I wanted to be able to stand up and say something if I thought someone else was in the wrong. I started following pages on Instagram that were educational so I could still be learning even if I was aimlessly scrolling through social media. I listened to recommended podcasts and joined in on conversations around microaggressions so that I felt more knowledgeable on different subjects and if I wanted to speak up, I had the confidence to do so.

This year, I joined the EnterPride committee and recently, my first pride parade in Glasgow. I feel that over the past 2 years I have made strides in becoming a better ally. I still have a lot to learn but have taken the steps to surround myself in the conversation so that I can help to keep it going, and not just once a year!